Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Grows Stake in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 68.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,682 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,306 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at $2,342,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 55.2% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,322 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter worth $209,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,612 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at about $702,000. Institutional investors own 86.61% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $52,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,772,450. This trade represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total transaction of $1,753,631.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,864 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,942.40. This represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE THG traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,606. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.52 and a 52 week high of $178.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $168.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 0.45.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 6.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

THG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities boosted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hanover Insurance Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.50.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage.